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Class_ 



Book 







COPYRIGHT DEPCSm 





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2Sp GDltffotU iL German 


THE GREAT DOT MYSTERY. 

THE DOT CIRCUS. 

THE DOT BOOK. 

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 

BOSTON AND NEW YORK 




THE DOT SIGNAL BOOK 

FOR BOYS AND GIRLS 





THE 

DOT SIGNAL BOOK 

FOR BOYS AND GIRLS 

BY 

CLIFFORD L. SHERMAN / 



BOSTON AND NEW YORK 

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 
fitoer^ibe $rCambribge 
J9J7 









COPYRIGHT, 1917, BY THE BELL SYNDICATE, INC. 


COPYRIGHT, 1917, BY CLIFFORD L. SHERMAN 


/ 


ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 


Published September IQ 17 



J 

SEP la s3i/ 




GI.A4 


7611 



Vb -V* 


A WORD OF EXPLANATION 

To complete the picture start at dot number one, 
draw a straight line to dot number two, 
and from there on, in order* All you 
need is a pencil—rather soft 






THE DOT SIGNAL BOOK 

FOR BOYS AND GIRLS 

A great cheer went up from the audience 
when a soldier man appeared in uniform, and, 
after he was introduced by one of the boys, he 
addressed all those present at the entertain¬ 
ment for the aid of the soldiers. He said, “ As 
long as I have been asked to contribute some¬ 
thing to this entertainment, I have made up 
my mind that my contribution will be some¬ 
thing useful. I am going to suggest that we 
all go out of doors, and I will teach you some¬ 
thing that may come in handy some day. And 
I would suggest that each one of you here 
should ask his mother to make him a set of 
signal flags.” 


The soldier explained how useful signalling 
was, and explained that when he held the flags 
crossed above his head he meant he was going 
to send numerals. For, you see, some signals 
mean both letters and figures. But, if he has 
not signalled that he is going to send numbers, 
all of the signals mean letters. “ Thus,” he 
said, “when I face you and hold one flag in 
my right hand forty-five degrees from the base 
and the other flag parallel to it, in front of my 
body while I am facing you, I am sending you 
the letter ‘A’ or the figure ‘i.* ” 























The soldier said he wanted all of the girls to 
learn the signal code, as well as the boys, be¬ 
cause they would find it lots more interesting 
than the telephone and lots cheaper. He said 
if you saw a man facing you and holding one 
flag in his right hand, at right angles with his 
body, and the other flag in front of his body, 
that there was not the least possible doubt but 
that he was sending you the letter “B” or the 
numeral “2.” “Why,” he said, “there won’t 
be any fun in going camping this summer at 
all if you don’t know how to wig-wag.” 

























As soon as the boys learned the importance 
of signalling in times of war, they became 
highly enthusiastic over the system and each 
one agreed to practise it until he was perfect. 
Broken telephone lines and bad connections 
would have no further terrors for them. The 
soldier then explained that, when the man sig¬ 
nalling was facing you and held a flag in his 
right hand one hundred and thirty-five degrees 
from the base with the other flag in front of 
his body, he was sending the letter “ C ” or the 
numeral “3.” 






























The boys were very much interested to learn 
how the observer, watching the signals with a 
glass or the naked eye, called off the messages 
to an aide who wrote out the messages in times 
of war, so they could be transmitted to the 
commanding officer. The soldier explained this 
and also an elaborate system of checking up to 
avoid errors. Then he said, “When the sig¬ 
naller is facing you and holds the flag in his 
right hand directly over his head and the other 
flag in front of his body, the letter he wishes 
to send is 4 D ’ or the numeral ‘ 4.’ ” 















“ Signalling,” said the demonstrator, “is a 
mighty fine thing for all of you boys, especially 
for the Boy Scouts. This system is much 
quicker than the Morse code and is just as 
easily learned. When you are hiking and want 
to make a camp, it is fine to have one Scout go 
ahead and find a good place and then send 
word back with the flags. And, if he should 
hold a flag in his left hand at one hundred and 
thirty-five degrees from the base and the other 
in his right hand in front of his body, he is 
sending the letter ‘ E * or the numeral ‘ 5 .’ ” 















The audience realized how necessary the 
flag system was, when they learned how the 
men on the outposts signalled back to the lines 
when they wanted stretcher-bearers to bring in 
the wounded. For, at such a time every minute 
counts, and the system is invaluable in case 
the field telephone is not working. When a 
man is seen holding the left-hand flag at right 
angles with his body, and the right-hand flag 
down, in front of his body, then he is sending 
the letter “ F ” or the numeral “6.” 

















“ Every sentry,” said the officer, “ must keep 
his eyes open for signal flags. Lots of people 
think the sentry is simply supposed to stand 
guard, but really he must be on the lookout 
for any possible messages that might be sent 
from some camp at a distant place. On a clear 
day the flags can be seen with the naked eye 
for a mile or more and, when the sender holds 
the flag in his left hand at an elevation of forty- 
five degrees from the ground and the one in 
his right hand parallel to the left hand flag but 
in front of his body, he is sending the letter 4 G ’ 
or the numeral ‘7.’ ” 































“ I don’t know whether or not,” said the offi¬ 
cer, who was explaining the semaphore system 
of signalling by hand flags, “ I told you the 
part of the flag which appears black in the 
sketches is of red cloth and the red part is al¬ 
ways attached to the staff. Of course, you will 
readily understand, the more conspicuous the 
place where you stand, the easier it is for the 
observer to read the message. When the per¬ 
son sending the message holds one flag in his 
right hand at right angles with his body and 
the one in his left hand to the right at an angle 
of forty-five degrees from the ground, he is 
sending the letter ‘ H ’ or the numeral ‘ 8.’ ” 




























“Every girl,” said the officer, “should learn 
the semaphore system especially if she is go¬ 
ing camping this summer. It is a great way to 
signal across a lake from one camp to another, 
and is invaluable in case of accidents. When 
the person signalling holds the right-hand flag 
to the right at an elevation of one hundred and 
thirty-five degrees from the ground and the 
left-hand flag to the right of the body at an 
elevation of forty-five degrees, he or she is 
sending the letter ‘ I ’ or the numeral 4 9.’ ” 




























“ Girls,” said the officer, “ are unusually quick 
at learning signalling, and my advice to you 
boys is to practise all you can, so they will not 
get ahead of you. And you must remember 
there will be many positions for the girls if 
they are educated to the needs of the country. 
To go on with the system: When you see the 
person signalling holding the right-hand flag 
above the head and the left-hand flag at the 
left at a right angle to the body, he is sending 
the letter ‘ J ’ or the numeral ‘o.’ ” 
















The officer impressed the boys and girls with 
the necessity of getting their messages by flags 
correctly. “ For,” he said, “ in most cases they 
have to be transmitted by field telegraph to 
headquarters and one mistake from the flag 
message may cause a lot of trouble. When the 
sender is holding the left-hand flag directly 
above his head and the right-hand flag to the 
right at forty-five degrees from the ground, he 
is sending the letter ‘K’ or a negative sign.” 





























“The wig-wag system,” explained the offi¬ 
cer, “is a good deal like playing the piano in 
some ways. If you learn it once thoroughly, 
you will never forget it, but to be really efficient 
you must practise a lot. After a while it will be 
as easy to send a message as to talk, and you 
will not have to think out each letter sepa¬ 
rately. When you see the sender holding his 
right-hand flag to the right of his body forty- 
five degrees from the ground and the left-hand 
flag to the left of his body one hundred and 
thirty-five degrees from the ground, you will 
know he is sending the letter ‘ L.’ ” 













The children learned that the wig-wag sys¬ 
tem was indispensable in the field, when they 
were told that, when a cavalryman who was 
doing scout duty found good water, he always 
signalled back that it was a good place to give 
the horses a drink. “For,” said the officer, 
“water is one of the most important things 
that we must look for. And when we see a 
man signalling and he is holding his right- 
hand flag to the right of his body forty-five 
degrees from the ground and his left-hand flag 
to the left of his body at right angles with it, 
we know he is sending the letter 4 M.’ ” 

















“When you read stories of the old Indian 
fighters/’ explained the demonstrator, “ you 
are led to believe the Indians themselves orig¬ 
inated the wig-wag system. While they do not 
spell out the words the way we do, each tribe 
has a system by which they converse entirely 
with their hands. Many of our soldiers have 
learned this system, and it has been a great 
help to them. But with our system when we 
see a man holding his right-hand flag to the 
right of his body at an elevation of forty-five 
degrees and his left-hand flag at the left of his 
body at a like elevation, we know he is sending 
the letter ‘ N ’ or ‘ annulling.’ ” 














“ There is not a boy or girl within reach of 
my voice,” said the officer, “ who cannot learn 
the wig-wag system. You do not have to go to 
war to do it and you do not even have to go 
into the country. You can learn all the signals 
in your own home and it is a fine thing to be 
able to practise with some neighbor, even if 
he is only across the street. Then when you 
look out and see a boy holding his right-hand 
flag to the right of his body at an elevation of 
one hundred and thirty-five degrees, and the 
left-hand flag also at the right at right angles 
with it, you will know he is sending the letter 
‘O’ which also means ‘interrogatory.’” 









































“ You have probably noticed,” explained the 
officer instructor, “that several of the letters I 
have shown you in the wig-wag system mean 
words as well. There are not many of these, 
but you will understand it is a good thing to 
memorize them, as they save a great deal of 
time. The next one means ‘affirmative.’ So 
when you see a man holding his right-hand 
flag to the right side of his body at right angles 
to it and his left-hand flag above his head, it 
means not only ‘ affirmative ’ but also the let¬ 
ter ‘ P.’ ” 































As a demonstration of the usefulness of the 
signalling system, the officer told a story of 
how, while on a camping trip with a party 
of friends, they were becalmed on a lake and 
would have been forced to remain out on the 
water all night if they had not been able to 
signal for a motor boat to come for them. 
“And,” he said, “when you see a man hold¬ 
ing his right-hand flag to the right of his body 
at right angles with it and the left-hand flag 
to the left of his body at an elevation of one 
hundred and thirty-five degrees, you will know 
he is sending the letter ‘ Q.’ ” 








































“ With the artillery,” said the lecturer, “the 
wig-wag system is something that cannot be 
under-estimated. The men use it to transmit 
ranges and messages of all sorts, and the noise 
never bothers them a bit. Every man must 
learn it, and it does n’t take them long to send 
from six to ten words a minute. And when 
they see the signaller holding his right-hand 
flag to the right of his body at a right angle to 
it and his left-hand flag in a similar position 
to the left of his body, they know he is sending 
the letter ‘ R ’ or the word ‘ acknowledge.’ ” 





















“ It does n’t take a nurse long to learn the 
wig-wag system,” said the officer, “ and many 
of them have found it has helped them a lot 
in their work and has done a great deal to in¬ 
crease their efficiency. It saves thousands of 
needless steps, and is so much quicker, when 
it comes to sending a message, than even a 
motor-cycle would be. And when you see 
somebody holding his right-hand flag to the 
right of his body at right angles with it and 
his left-hand flag to the left of his body at an 
elevation of forty-five degrees, you will know 
he is sending the letter ‘ S.’ ” 



























“ The Army,” explained the officer, “ em¬ 
ploys a lot of abbreviations in the field when 
they want to send for ammunition or to start or 
cease firing. These are not necessary for you 
to learn until you are called to the colors. But 
you certainly should learn this alphabet. You 
won’t realize how simple it is until you try it. 
And when you see the signaller holding his 
right-hand flag to the right of his body at an 
elevation of one hundred and thirty-five de¬ 
grees and the left-hand flag above his head, 
you will know he is sending the letter ‘ T.* ” 



















“ I know all of you boys like to eat,” said the 
officer with a smile, “ and I know if you were 
in camp you would be just like the soldiers 
and want to know exactly when meals were 
ready. But sometimes when the wind is blow¬ 
ing hard or there is a lot of noise, it is almost 
impossible to hear the bugle. Then it is a good 
time to look for the flags to tell you the time 
for ‘chow.* And when you see the signaller 
holding his right-hand flag to the right of his 
body at an elevation of one hundred and thirty- 
five degrees and the left-hand flag to the left 
of his body at a like elevation, you will know 
he is sending the letter 4 U.’ ” 























“ Even when the boys are digging trenches,” 
explained the instructor, “they always keep 
somebody on the lookout for signals. There is 
no telling what is going to happen and for that 
reason they are always on the alert. It is no 
time to be surprised by a sudden attack. And 
when they see the signaller holding his right- 
hand flag to the left of his body at an elevation 
of one hundred and thirty-five degrees and the 
left-hand flag also at the left of his body at 
right angles to it, they know he is sending the 
letter ‘W.’” 













The instructor suggested the whole audience 
adjourn to the outdoors and begin practise with 
signal flags, and the suggestion met with a 
hearty response. It was not long before the 
landscape was dotted with groups sending and 
receiving. “You have learned,” said the in¬ 
structor, “ all of the most important letters in 
the alphabet, but you must understand, when 
you see the signal man holding his left-hand 
flag to the left of his body at an elevation of 
one hundred and thirty-five degrees and the 
right-hand flag also at the left side of the body 
at an elevation of forty-five degrees, that he is 
sending the letter ‘ X.' ” 
















“You should not let a day go by,” said the 
lecturer, “without spending at least half an 
hour in sending and receiving messages, and 
then you will find in a few weeks it will come 
as easy to you as reading print. And always 
keep your eyes open so you will notice readily 
when a person wishes to communicate with 
you. And, if he holds his right-hand flag at the 
right of his body at an elevation of one hun¬ 
dred and thirty-five degrees and his left-hand 
flag at the left of his body at a right angle to 
it, he is sending you the letter 4 Y.’ ” 



























“You will not need the next letter very 
often,” said the officer, “ but, of course, there 
may be a time when you want to spell ‘zero ’ 
or send something in regard to a ‘zebra,’ but 
the occasions will be rare. However, you will 
naturally want to know the whole alphabet. 
So, when you see the signaller holding his 
left-hand flag at the left of his body at right 
angles to it and his right-hand flag also to the 
left of his body at an elevation of forty-five 
degrees, you will know he is sending the let¬ 
ter ‘Z.’” 







44 1 can’t just at this minute recall, said the 
officer, 44 whether I told you how to call atten¬ 
tion when signalling. Anyway, you hold your 
flags in the same position as you do for the 
letter 4 U ’ and then wave them about five de¬ 
grees up and five degrees down. There is an¬ 
other signal you must learn, for it makes it 
easy to read words without running together. 
When you see the signaller holding his flags 
crossed in front of his body below the waist, 
you will know that it means 4 interval.’ ” 


INTERVAL 














“ A suggestion was made to me,” said the offi¬ 
cer, “ and I think it is a good one. It is for me 
to give you a complete set of the diagrams all 
in one drawing. So here you are, and with the 
work that you have already done you should 
not find it very necessary. But when you are 
in a hurry you can look up the letters here. I 
realize the whole thing resembled a mystery at 
first, but, like all mysteries, it is easily solved 
when you have the..” 




1. ’ 2 ' 5 6 M 

•6 9 * 

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CAMBRIDGE . MASSACHUSETTS 


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